Honor Bus offers chance for local World War II, Korean War veterans to see memorials in Washington, D.C.

World War II and Korean War veterans in Dauphin and Cumberland counties have another chance to get to see their respective memorials in Washington, D.C., thanks to the local Honor Bus organization.

View full sizeThe World War II and Lincoln Memorials are seen at sunset along the National Mall in Washington, Monday, March 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

The eighth Honor Bus trip will be Oct. 14, and reservations are being accepted on two buses that will make the trek, said Evelyn Rixey, Honor Bus committee spokeswoman.

A bonus for this year’s group is the reservation of a time slot to have some of the veterans take part in the wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, Rixey said. Veterans from the trip will get to walk the wreath down 21 steps and present it to the honor guard during the ceremony, she said.

While last spring organizers said they were uncertain if trips would continue due to dwindling numbers of World War II members, funding depletion and retirement of the teacher who was the co-chairwoman, Honor Bus is rolling again, Rixey said.

Even though she retired from Mechanicsburg Area Middle School at the end of last school year, Beckie Lacey is continuing to be co-chairwoman of the trip with her husband, Kevin Lacey, director of Dauphin County Technical School.

Lacey said she decided to continue as organizer after a successor didn’t step forward.

Plus, funds “literally dropped in our lap through the Legion Riders,” she said, referring to the motorcycle group of the American Legion, which gave $2,000 from its ride in August. “And other fraternal organizations and groups continued to donate so there would be another trip. ... It just sort of has come together.”

This year’s trip will run on the $6,000-$8,000 contributed, Lacey said. In some prior years, as much as $16,000 was raised.

The American Legion Post 26 of Dillsburg is providing a free dinner at the end of the day, and Applebees has provided lunches for the veterans for the past eight years, Lacey said. Other donors have included Filson Water of Carlisle, $2,000 from the Mechanicsburg Club and The Hershey Co.

Lacey said someone even handed her a $100 bill while she was walking recently through West Shore Farmers Market wearing her Honor Bus T-shirt. “Every trip is a gift — we can’t predict if funding will be available,” Lacey said.

The trip will be able to take 60-75 veterans, and Lacey said seats are still available. Veterans in their 80s often wait until the last few weeks to sign up, since they aren’t sure how their health will be months or even weeks in advance. “We are accustomed to last-minute add-ons,” she said.

Since the Honor Bus was started in 2008 through efforts of Mechanicsburg Area Middle School students, about 500 midstate World War II veterans have made the trip. It has expanded to include Korean War veterans, but organizers still ask that veterans limit themselves to one Honor Bus trip.

The idea came from a TV news story about Earl Morse, a retired Air Force captain and Veterans Administration physician assistant from Ohio who organized the Honor Flight Network of pilots in 2005 to give free flights to veterans to visit the National World War II Memorial. Lacey said her students were inspired to action.

Buses will leave from a Mechanicsburg school, and Dauphin County Technical School will serve as an East Shore meeting point. On the morning of the trip, the veterans are treated to a ceremony and breakfast and receive a T-shirt and hat, among other gifts, Rixey said.

DETAILS:

To sign up for Honor Bus VIII on Oct. 14 to the World War II and Korean War memorials and Arlington National Cemetery, or to donate funds, contact: Honor Bus, 6001 Locust St., Harrisburg, PA 17019; or 717-652-3170, ext. 7427.

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